LOS ANGELES — The Lakers' first impression of their revamped roster Wednesday was also the last look they would get as a team before the All-Star break.
And it was a good one. «I think we're going to continue to build off tonight,» LeBron James said after scoring 21 points in the Lakers' 120-102 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, playing for the first time since L.A.
overhauled its team at the trade deadline. «I think our skill sets all kind of fit each other.» L.A. trotted out its 30th different starting lineup in its 59th game of the season — the most in the NBA — but this one, featuring three recently acquired players in D'Angelo Russell at point guard, Malik Beasley at shooting guard and Jarred Vanderbilt at power forward, seemed to click right away.
The Lakers jumped to a 12-2 lead and didn't look back, pushing their advantage to as many as 20 against a Pelicans team they're trying to catch in the Western Conference playoff picture. «It was good,» said Anthony Davis, who led L.A.